Worst you've ever died in a race

So I went with my parents to a fun run kind of race, a cross country type thing, maybe about 2.2 miles. I was 17 and about 1:57.4 and 4:32 at the time.

Stupidly, lol, I decided to experiment with drinking for the first time to get to sleep the night before. I only had one drink, but let's just say it was a huge glass, lol.

The race started and some geezer (to me) took off like a bat out of hell. I lept him within my sights for about a mile, when it got hot as hell outside, and I just said "wtf" and stopped. It was off season, and I was dehydrated from the drink the night before.

The geezer beat me. And I even got beat by my parents, lol.

Only time I ever quit a race.

A few years later I found out the geezer was an American record holder, lol.

Five mile PB for the first 5 miles of a half! Proceeded with 8 miles of pain...

What did Sage say?

in his first mile race in High School Jim Ryun ran the first lap in 86 seconds and the second lap in 89, giving him 2:55 for 880 yards. then some kind of Demon overtook him and he ran 69 seconds for the third lap, making it 4:04 for three laps. but then he died, and the last lap took him 94 seconds and he finished 14th in 5:38

21 months later he broke 4 minutes for the mile.

cheers.

cotton shirt wrote:

in his first mile race in High School Jim Ryun ran the first lap in 86 seconds and the second lap in 89, giving him 2:55 for 880 yards. then some kind of Demon overtook him and he ran 69 seconds for the third lap, making it 4:04 for three laps. but then he died, and the last lap took him 94 seconds and he finished 14th in 5:38

21 months later he broke 4 minutes for the mile.

cheers.

Is this true?

A young lady in Cleveland just died during racing.

Dead people usually don't answer LR questions.

I've never raced when it is really hot before, and I had a 5k last weekend where I went 2-3k in 17:10/20 pace and then I just cratered and couldn't handle the heat, finished in 18:17

The worst dying during a race would be running intelligently, at a pace that would get you a small pr, but falling off pace and finishing a minute or two, depending on distance, over your pr. Any moron can sprint the first 400-800 and run a bad time. Its not cool, its not brave, and its not manly.

Boston 1996. Although on goal pace, I knew at the half that I was in trouble. I was walking by 16, and did a combination of survival shuffle & walking all the way to the finish. I was in shape and well prepared, but it was just one of those "off" days that you just can't explain. Brutal.

I was a 1600/3200 guy in HS but often ended up running the 1st leg in the 4x400m because someone had to. Last meet of the year the league title comes down to the 4x400 and coach tells me to just stay in front of the guy I'm running against, the theory being that its difficult to pass on the tight turns indoors. Turns out he was 4-seconds faster than me at 400 meters but not knowing this I do as I'm told and hold him off for 300 meters until my hamstrings and back seized like I've never experienced. Our man running the second leg actually had to turn around and run towards me in the hand off zone to get the baton.

Freshman year, during XC districts. I pr’d in the mile during a 5k. I ran 5:21, 6:30, 8:01 (last 1.1)

I pr’d by one second in the race

Yeah that was a fun race...

noolan wrote: Is this true?

every word.

taken from an article in Athletics Weekly

cheers.

I didn't do XC until my senior year in high school, played Varsity soccer prior but also placed at states junior year in track. When I started XC, I ran every race trying to be Prefontaine out front trying to lead the entire thing and run hard the whole race.

I went undefeated after 6 races and some guy's Dad, that had a bad reputation in running circles, came to a meet to "scout me" because I was racing his son next week. I thought it was weird for geeky hs xc league meets but whatever. My coach had me run a workout the day before the race because it was just a duel meet and we were training through it.

I raced the guy's son and we dueled the entire race, changing the lead at different points, and one of his teammates put in a huge surge then dropped out (think it was a weird strategy). The race ended up on the track and when we hit it he went for his kick, when I went for mine (I knew I was faster) my body just locked up, legs went kaput, became like one of those guys from the ironman commercial just struggling to move at end of the race. The kid's dad started jumping up and down celebrating and pointing at me (I thought it was distaceful and I wanted to kick his *ss). I finished 2nd and was pissed/embarrassed.

Held onto that anger and smoked him in Winter and Spring track every time I raced him. He had his teammates wear custom "Stop _____" his name was shirts to our spring track meet (as a big Pre guy I was disgusted). After I put him in the hurt locker, I said your Dad's a loser and you're a p**sy (I was petty and not classy).

400m race

Out in 22 high, finished in 29 flat

800m race

55/63

Had a 1500m race where my last 50m was real painful and slow but the splits were not too bad.

Ran a downhill 5k (first 1.5 downhill, last 1.6 relatively flat)

Hit 2 miles in 9:50, but only finished in 15:59

so... first 2 were at 4:55 pace and the last 1.1 was 5:35 pace! haha

1500m in 3.52

400 - 61

800 - 1.57

1100 - 2.40

72s last 400m

Started running at age 35. Did a five mile race where the first mile was 5:40 and still didn't break 35. I did over 8 minute pace the last two miles and it was all I could do to not stop and walk.

Couple years later running my first real marathon (had did one previously with wife), I noticed chaffing issues within the first 5k. Kept going because otherwise felt good. Made it to half on goal pace (1:35), asked for vaseline at the med tent, they didn't have any but had sunscreen, so I put that one, and kept going. By 30k I was still running around 7:20 pace but the pain was excruciating between my legs. Look down and had streaks of blood running down my legs.

Ended up practically walking to the finish with my hands between my legs trying to keep skin from rubbing skin. Splits were 1:35 and 2:15 for a 3:50 finish.

A day after wing night in the off season I decided to hop in a 5k road race. 13min 2 mile split, 21:03 finish. It was a bruh moment.

Lol that was me. World-class first 200m...excellent to 300m...everyone was so excited, apparently other teams and coaches were screaming because they thought they were witnessing the emergence of a 400m great.

At least we didn’t finish last, so I did gain us a few places. I had never felt like that before, not even in hard practice.

And lol the other poster, 28 for the last 100m! That’s hard to even picture. 28!

I love this thread.